Cause It's Our Job
by SolidTux
Summary: A story about a guy who joined the Turks in a fight against Team Rocket.
1. Cause It's Our Job Parts 1 - 4

**"Cause It's Our Job"**  
by [SolidTux][1]

**Part 1**

It was just another typical day. Eric was wandering around with his Squirtle, looking for food in the slums. Eric was abandoned by his parents when he was only five, the only true friend he ever had was his trusted Squirtle, who was always by his side no matter what. It's been years since they've been wandering around, with no home it was all they were able to do. 

Walking around the slums, Squirtle spotted a Charmander, it was attacking a girl in her teens, she was wearing a black suit, backing away from the Charmander. The flame on the Charmander's tail seemed to be growing as it growled at the girl. 

Eric, after seeing the girl get attacked, yelled out, "Squirtle! Water Gun, now!" at his Squirtle. 

The tiny Squirtle obeyed and sprayed a beam of water at the Charmander's tail, nearly extinguishing it. Eric took out the "borrowed" Pokéball he had in his pocket and pressed the small button in the middle, making the ball expand. The Squirtle backed away from the stunned Charmander and Eric threw the ball at the Charmander. 

The button on the ball hit the Charmander and transformed it into a mass of energy, then trapped it inside the ball. The ball shook violently for a brief three seconds then stopped as the Squirtle, Eric, and the girl stared at it. 

"Yeah!" Eric yelled out as he went over to the Pokéball and picked it up. The pressed the button on the ball and it shrunk, he then attached it to his belt. 

"Thank you," the girl told Eric. 

"No problem," Eric responded, then added "Mighty dangerous to be out here all alone you know. You never know when stuff like this is gonna happen." After a brief moment, "What's your name?" 

"Sandra," the girl replied, "and I'm quite capable of taking care of myself. In fact, I was just about to fight it when you came along." 

"Oh, I'm sorry....since you can take care of yourself....I guess I'll be on my way then," he said as he turned around and started to walk off. 

"Wait...where will you be going?" 

"Wherever, I guess, I don't have any other place to go to, so I just wander around with my Squirtle." 

"Why don't you and your Squirtle come with me," she said, noting his ragged clothes added, "I could get you clean clothes and a place to stay." 

--------------- 

"So you say he saved you from a Charmander and he captured it?" the man in the black suit with a pony tail asked. 

"Yes, sir." Sandra responded. 

"Well then I guess we could keep him with us....but for what?" 

"He could be of use to us, sir." 

"Like what?" 

"He could help us get rid of Team Rocket, sir." 

"Hmm..well, you do have a point there," the man said. "He can stay with us for a while, but you are responsible for him, and one mistake and he's out. Understood?" 

"Yes, sir," Sandra replied. 

The man signaled Sandra dismissed and she turned around and walked out of his office. She walked over to Eric, who was looking down at the city from the window and said, "Well, Eric, I got you a place to stay, but you have to be with me at all times." 

Eric nodded. 

"Now, about your clothes..." Sandra signaled for Eric to follow as they walked to the locker rooms. She took a key out of her pocket and opened locker 453. She handed the key to Eric and turned around, facing away from Eric. "The clothes in the locker are yours, if you wanna eat, change. We're about to go on your first assignment." 

Eric obeyed and started to change his dirty, old clothes for the black, new suit in his locker. 

"We have to go visit a Bicycle gang, the boss thinks they know something about Team Rocket, we have to get that information from them." 

"What's Team Rocket?" Eric asked as he buttoned the last button on his suit. 

Sandra turned around and said, "A group of gangsters that steal Pokémon, that are rightfully ours, and use them to steal." Looking at the Squirtle she added, "If you're going to take that Squirtle with you, you're going to have to keep him inside the Pokéball." 

Eric looked at his Squirtle and asked, "Is that all right with you?" 

The tiny Squirtle nodded. Eric took out a Pokéball from his pocket, expanded it then tapped the button on the Squirtle to trap it inside, then put is back in his pocket. 

----------- 

Outside of Celadon City Sandra, Eric, and another man wearing a black suit were talking to the leader of a bicycle gang. 

"I said I ain't tellin' you nothing!" the gang leader said to the man with Sandra and Eric. 

The man growled and Sandra said, "Let me handle this, Vince." She looked back at the bicycle gang leader and said, "Either you tell us what we want to know, or things are going to get messy around here." 

"What are you going to do about it?" the gang leader asked, "It's just the three of you against the five of us!" 

Vince grinned at the gang leader and cracked all the knuckles of his right hand. 

"Get 'em!" the gang leader said. 

Two men got off their bikes and ran towards Sandra, the other two ran towards Vince. With one powerful swing of his right arm, Vince knocked the two men running to him unconscious. Sandra kicked the first man running towards her in the face, knocking him to the ground, and kneed the other man in the groin, knocking him down as well. 

The leader, who had taken a Pokéball out from his pocket and expanded it earlier, threw the Pokéball in front of Sandra. A Geodude propped out of the ball and the leader said, "Geodude! Get rid of her!" 

Eric saw this and quickly took a Pokéball out of his pocket and threw it at the Geodude, yelling, "Go, Squirtle!" 

The Pokéball fell next to Geodude and out came Squirtle. 

"Water Gun, now!" Eric commanded. 

The Squirtle obeyed and sprayed water at the Geodude. The Geodude, highly affected by the water, fell back nearly fainted. 

As the gang leader started to turn his bike around, Vince lifted him by his throat and threw him to the ground. 

"Where do you think you're going?" Sandra asked the gang leader as Eric picked up the Pokéball that the Geodude came out of, he closed it and threw it at the Geodude to trap it. He shrunk the Pokéball with the touch of a button and slipped in his pocket, then walked with his Squirtle to where Sandra and Vince were. 

"Now, you have one more chance to tell us. Who is the leader of Team Rocket and where can we find him?" Sandra asked the fallen gang leader. 

"Th-th-the leader is Giovanni. But that's all I know, I swear!" the gang leader said. 

"Sorry, wrong answer," Vince said as he took out a 45mm with an added silencer from underneath his suit coat and pointed it at the gang leader's head. 

"We're going to....kill him?" Eric asked nervously. 

"Yup," Vince replied. 

"But why?" 

"Cause it's our job," Sandra told him. 

Eric and his Squirtle looked the other way as Vince shot the gang leader, the only sound heard was the single chirp of the silenced gun firing. 

Turning to face Eric, Sandra said, "You're going to have to learn to get used to this, Eric. Our job isn't over until we eliminate all of Team Rocket."

**Part 2**

The next day, after a hearty breakfast, the first real breakfast Eric and his Squirtle had in years, Eric was told to go to Sandra's quarters for details on their next assignment. He put his Squirtle back in it's Pokéball and went off to see Sandra. 

-------------

Eric came to the front of Sandra's quarters and knocked on the door. 

"Come in, the door's open," Sandra said from inside. 

Eric let himself in and closed the door behind him. In the main room was Sandra sitting at a desk reading papers, probably from other assignments or something. Sandra put all the papers away in a file drawer in her desk and looked at Eric. "Sit down," she told Eric as she pointed to the chair in front of her desk. 

"You wanted to see me?" Eric asked. 

"Yes, so tell me, how come you were dressed all raggedy when we first met." 

"Well, you see, I've been wandering around for years with my Squirtle with no particular place to actually live in. Ever since I can remember, I've been roaming around everywhere with my Squirtle, he has always been by my side, no matter what." 

"So you were--" 

The door opened and shut as a tall, muscular man dressed in the typical, Turks uniform, a black suit. It was Vince. 

"So anyways," Sandra nervously said, "we found out the allies of the bicycle gang that we apprehended yesterday. Some street gang kids from Viridian City that call themselves 'CHRoMe.' Intelligence says that they know something about one of Team Rocket's bases. 

"Our assignment is to meet them at 1600 hours and find out all we can about Team Rocket's base and anything else that can be of any value. The problem is that they want a Mewtwo that we don't have. That's where you come in, Eric." She handed Eric an empty Pokéball. "You, being the only Pokémon trainer of the Turks, will give him this empty Pokéball when he asks for the Mewtwo, make sure he thinks there is a Mewtwo in there. Vince and I will take care of the rest." 

-------- 

The leader of "CHRoMe" was alone in his hideout, he had a grim smile in his face the entire time. "So we have a deal, eh?" 

"Yes, 'SToNe,' we have the Mewtwo right here," Sandra said pointing to Eric. Eric took the empty Pokéball out of his pocket and showed it to SToNe, not letting him touch it. 

"So, tell us what we want to know and we'll give you the Mewtwo," Sandra said. 

"Hold on a sec," SToNe said. "First...I wanna check out the merchandise." 

Sandra nodded to Eric. Eric gave the empty Pokéball to SToNe slightly nervously. 

SToNe pressed the button on the Pokéball and it popped right open. He scowled a little then smiled grimly again. "You think you can do this to me and get away with it? Ha. You people sure are stupid," he said as he took a Pokéball out from under his leather jacket. 

Eric got in the fighting position he had been taught last night. Sandra took out a gun from under her suit jacket. Vince cracked his knuckles and smiled almost evilly. 

SToNe threw the ball towards the Turks and laughed a fowl laugh that sounded like a dog barking backwards. Then yelled, "Go! Exeggcute!" 

"Grass, eh?" Eric commented as he took out a Pokéball and released the Charmander within. "I suggest you put that Exeggcute away. Grass is weak against fire, you know." 

SToNe flicked Eric off. "Exeggcute--" 

"Charmander! Ember attack now!" Eric said, interrupting SToNe. 

The Charmander nodded and opened his mouth. It inhaled deeply then spat out fire from it's mouth as it exhaled saying, "Chaaaaaar!" 

The Exeggcute, highly affected by fire, being a grass type Pokémon, fainted. 

Faint signs of nervousness showed on SToNe as Vince grabbed him by the throat and Sandra aimed the 45 mm dead at SToNe's head from point blank. 

"Now, tell us," Sandra said, "where is this Team Rocket Base located at?" 

SToNe said nothing. 

Sandra nodded at Vince. Vince replied by tightening his grip on SToNe's throat. Sandra waited patiently. 

"....C-C-Celadon City...." the gang leader said. 

Satisfied with the answer, Sandra cocked the gun and started to pull on the trigger. 

"Wait!" Eric interrupted. "Can't we spare him?" 

"......all right," Sandra replied. 

Vince added, "He better watch his back, cause if I see this joker on the street I'm gonna beat the $#!+ out of him!" 

Beads of sweat started forming on SToNe's head as Vince threatened him indirectly. 

Seeing the fainted Exeggcute on the floor, Eric took back the empty Pokéball and threw it at the Exeggcute to trap it and heal it later. "Don't worry, you're Exeggcute is in good hands," he told SToNe as they let him go and left.

**Part 3**

Outside of Celadon City, a helicopter lowers itself to a hover above a clearing in the forest. Three ropes are dropped down from the 'copter and three dark figures drop down from each rope. The ropes are pulled back up to the 'copter as it hovers up and flies away. The three dark figures move in unison towards the city. 

--------- 

The tallest of the three figures turned his head to face the female figure and asked, "So, what or who are we looking for here in Celadon City, Sandra?" 

Keeping her gaze in front of her, she replied, "Anything and everything that has to do with Team Rocket." She turned her gaze to the other male figure and asked, "So, Eric. How do you like living as a Turk so far?" 

He replied: "....It's not the greatest of lifestyles...but I guess I should stick around...I don't actually have any place to go...and I do get fed being a Turk...." 

"You'll get used to it sooner or later," Sandra said grinning. 

Suddenly, two spotlights from the tree tops illuminated in front of our three "heroes." They stopped walking and looked up to the spotlights, where they saw two dark figures, one in front of each spotlight, a male and a female. 

"Prepare for trouble and make it double!" the two figures said together. 

"To infect the world with devastation!" the female figure said. 

"To blight all peoples in every nation!" the male exclaimed. 

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!" 

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!" 

"Cassidy!" 

"Butch!" 

"We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!" 

"Surrender to us now, or you will surely lose the fight!" 

"That's right!" 

Jumping down from the treetops a Raticate landed to where the spotlights shine is and yelled, "Cate!!" 

"So, Team Rocket came to pay us a visit," Vince said to Sandra. 

"Then let's give our guests the proper accommodations," she replied. She turned to face Eric and asked, "You ready?" 

Eric nodded as he reached to his belt and detached a pokéball. 

Two more figures emerged from the treetops and landed behind the Raticate, both about the same height wearing dark blue clothes with a large red "R" on the front. They each reached for their belt and threw a pokéball in front of them, out came a Rattata from one of them and Pidgey from the other. 

Eric stifled a laugh at the weak-looking pokémon. He threw the pokéball he had in his hand and out emerged his Geodude. 

"Geodude!" the pokémon exclaimed. 

Vince, on the other hand, grinned widely at the thought of a fight and ran towards the two Rockets. He grabbed them both firmly by their necks and banged their heads together. The two Rockets, obviously hurt by the blow, collapsed to the ground unconscious. 

"Rattata, Pidgey! Take care of those pests!" the female figure in front of the spotlight said, looking down with her arms crossed. 

The Pidgey soared up into the air as the Rattata made a mad dash towards Eric's Geodude. 

"Geodude, stop 'im with your tackle attack!" Eric commanded. 

The Geodude obeyed and floated at full speed towards the incoming Rattata. The two pokémon ran into each other and crashed, the Rattata was knocked back unconscious a couple of feet, while the Geodude was without harm. 

The Pidgey came diving down rapidly towards the unsuspecting Geodude. 

Eric took note of the Pidgey and yelled, "Geodude! Jump!" 

The Geodude nodded and jumped up as high as it could, bashing into the Pidgey's beak, causing it to crack. The Pidgey fell to the ground badly hurt and at the edge of losing consciousness. 

At this, Butch and Cassidy jumped down from in front of the spotlights to join their fallen comrades. Sandra, Vince, and Eric walked closer to the Rockets and waited patiently. The Rockets and Turks exchanged looks. 

"Tell us where you're base is and we'll go easy on you," Sandra said with a smile. 

"We'll never tell you!" Cassidy replied angrily. 

Sandra shrugged, tilting her head slightly to the side. She snapped her fingers and Vince responded. He took a step closer to Butch, watching him with a smirk. Butch just stared at him confused. Vince brought his arm as back as he could and brought it forward at full force. Butch tried to duck, but was still unfortunate to get hit in his forehead. He was knocked to the ground looking at Cassidy, still conscious. 

"Now, we'll ask you one more time. Where is your base?" Sandra said slightly irritated. 

Cassidy smirked grimly and turned to face Butch. A small explosion appeared between them and thick, dark smoke splurted out from where the explosion was and started filling the area. 

"Damn!" Sandra cursed as she coughed her way out of the smoke.

As the smoke cleared, Eric took a look around. Butch and Cassidy had left with their Raticate, the two defeated Rockets were still on the ground unconscious along with the Pidgey and the Rattata. Eric walked closer to them and inspected their pokémon. He nodded to himself, taking out an empty pokéball from his pocket, then dropped it on the Rattata, he decided to leave the Pidgey with the broken beak alone. He picked up the pokéball that now contained the Rattata. He noted that there was a small sheet of paper under it. 

"Hey, Sandra. What's this thing?" he asked. 

Sandra walked to him and picked up the paper. She read the paper. "It's a ticket," she said, "to a concert in Nibleim."

**Part 4**

Looking down at the view below from inside the helicopter, Eric sighed. The newest recruit of the Turks and already they've been working him for weeks nonstop. He was tired of it all. He did enjoy being with his new friends and capturing new Pokémon, but he felt as if he needed a serious vacation. 

"Sandra," he said softly, trying to keep his weary eyes open. 

"Yes?" Sandra whispered. 

"Do we actually get any days off from work?" 

"Sure we do," she replied. She turned to face him, "but this is a top priority assignment, days off are rare..." 

----------

The helicopter landed rather roughly atop a building in Nibleim. 

"We're here!" Vince said, showing a hint of excitement. 

Sandra raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you actually glad to be here?" she asked. 

"This is my home town. Why wouldn't I be glad!" He paused for a moment, then said, "Um, Sandra...if it's alright with you, I'd like to go visit my friends and family..." 

"Well...eh, why not? We all need the break. Besides, we are going to a concert, we could go buy some clothes and go in disguise." 

"Great!" Vince replied as he opened the helicopter door and ran out. 

"So, Eric," Sandra said, "where's your home town?" 

"I...don't know," he replied calmly. 

Sandra fell silent. She didn't know what to say. "Well, uh, let's go get some clothes for the concert, shall we." 

Eric nodded and they both headed out the helicopter. 

-------- 

Eric and Sandra wandered the streets of Nibleim looking for a decent shop to get their clothes at. One particular store caught Sandra's eye. At the store's window were two mannequins, one was modeling a blue tuxedo and the other a red dress. She thought of herself with Eric and smiled inwardly. 

Sandra stopped and looked over to Eric. "Let's try this place," she said. 

Eric looked at the two mannequins in the window and nodded, then shrugged it off seeing that Sandra had already entered. That's Sandra for ya, he thought, then walked to the door. As he moved his hand to pull the door open, he was slightly startled when the door opened seemingly by itself. In front of him was Sandra carrying two medium-sized boxes. She gave him one box, grinned and said, "This is what you're going to wear tonight." 

Eric didn't say anything, he just stared, How did she..., his thought trailed off. 

---------- 

Eric was dressed in the blue tuxedo, patiently waiting on a couch for Sandra. Looking around, he began to wonder why Vince had joined the Turks, he had a nice house and a wonderful family, the very things that he longed for all his life. A place to claim as his own and a family to be with him through thick and thin. 

Sandra finally came and approached Eric wearing the skintight, red dress. "So, what do you think?" she asked Eric. 

"You look great," he replied in a flat tone. 

Sandra didn't say anything, she wanted Eric to notice her, he did notice her, but it didn't go the way she hoped. The way he acts disturbs her in a way, always silent, always calm. She sighed at the thought, then asked, "Ready to go?" 

"Yup," Eric replied as he stood up from the couch. 

"Let's let Vince stay here with his family for a while longer." 

Eric nodded and they left. 

--------------------------- 

As they sat in their front row seats, Sandra started to become excited sitting next to Eric...alone. But one thing started to bother her, they were the only ones there. Without giving it another thought, she decided that it was a private show for the two from Team Rocket. 

As the main lights dimmed, she held on to Eric's arm and layed her head on his shoulder. Eric looked at Sandra and noticed her smiling, he couldn't help but smile himself, having Sandra close to him and all, he really enjoyed it. 

The curtains drew apart and thick, theater smoke covered the stage. Emerged from the smoke two figures were standing still in the center of the stage. Two spotlights were shined on them. "Prepare for trouble and make it double!" they said in unison. 

"An ambush! Damn, not this, not now," Sandra said to herself. "Let's get this over with, Eric. While their guard is down," she told Eric.  
Eric nodded and followed Sandra up on the stage. They crouched low to stay hidden within the theater smoke. Eric went behind Butch as Sandra went behind Cassidy. They looked at each other and nodded, then both stood up and hit their designated opponent across the head with their elbow. 

Sandra took out the gun she had been concealing and pointed it at Cassidy, while Eric held down Butch. Frustrated at Cassidy and Butch for ruining her moment with Eric, she asked, "Where the hell is your base? And don't give me no $#!+ this time or I'll blow your head off!" 

"Ha, you think that little peashooter is going to scare us?" Cassidy replied. 

"This is your last warning, tell me where you're base is!" 

"I'll never tell you anything." 

Sandra pointed the gun at Butch, "I'll give you a chance, tell me where you're base is and I'll let you live." 

Butch looked at Cassidy and smiled sadly, then he said, "I..won't tell you anything either." 

"Eric, knock him out. I'm going to handle this one alone." 

Disappointed, Eric nodded and wrapped his arm around Butch's neck to limit the supply of oxygen. He held this grip over Butch until he closed his eyes and fainted. "Don't worry, he's still alive," Eric said to Cassidy. He got up and started to walk out the theater. "Sandra...if you can...spare them, please," he said. He walked out to theaters and headed back to Vince's house. 

Looking at Cassidy, tears about to fall from her eyes, Sandra said, "Why'd you have to do it? You just had to ruin my moment with him, didn't you? The first time I actually ever had a moment alone with him, the moment I waited for ever since I met him. Damn you! Damn you to hell!" 

Outside the theater walking to Vince's place, Eric heard two gunshots coming from inside the theater. He sighed and continued to walk.

   [1]: mailto:darientuxedomask@hotmail.com



	2. Cause It's Our Job Parts 5 - 7

**"Cause It's Our Job"**  
by [SolidTux][1]

**Part 5**

The breeze was calm. Eric layed on the sand near the water, letting the waves wet him as they came and left. He rested his head on top of his hands and relaxed, letting the sun's warm rays fall on him. He turned his head to his right, looked at Sandra and said, "So tell me. Won't we get in trouble if we're just laying around doing nothing?" 

Sandra turned to him and smiled. "There's nothing we can do. We have no leads or anything. So unless we get a clue somehow, we're just gonna have to take a break." 

"Great," he replied. 

Turning on his stomach, Eric closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. There was one other small group of people in the beach building a sand castle together. A boy that looked like he hadn't ever combed his hair, a girl with red hair tied in a ponytail on her side, another boy with spikey, dark brown hair, and a small pikachu. Vince had gone out for a swim and Sandra was laying next to him soaking in the waves and sun. It was great being with Sandra. Eric realized that being with her is all he wanted. She gave him a new life, one that doesn't involve living without a home. Sandra, he thought to himself. The very thought of just her name made him feel like he was floating in the clouds. She sure is cute, he thought. After thinking that, it came to him like a ton of bricks. He just realized that he likes Sandra in more than just a friendly way. Questions ran through his mind. How could I be so blind? Why didn't I know? finally, he realized for the first time, he was in love with Sandra. 

Trying to take his mind off the subject, he turned to Sandra and asked, "So, Sandra, why did you recruit me to the Turks?" 

Sandra turned to face him and said, "Well, um....you did save my life...and then there's the part that your a pokémon trainer and..." 

She was interrupted by a meowth that had fallen on top of her from the sky. "Sorry 'bout dat," it said as two other people came down. 

"Not you two again!" the boy with the untamed hair said. 

By this time Eric had spotted the two that had seemed to drop down from the sky and grabbed his pokéballs. There was a male and female wearing white clothes, each had a giant, red "R" on their shirt. The male had medium-length, blue hair and carried a rose. The female had long, purple hair. 

"Prepare for trouble!" the female said. 

"Make it double!" the male said in response. 

"To protect the world from devastation!" 

"To unite all peoples within out nation!" 

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" 

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" 

"Jessie!" 

"James!" 

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!" 

"Surrender now or--" 

"Yeah, yeah. Would you just cut to the chase already?" the weird haired boy interrupted. 

"How dare you interrupt out motto!" Jessie said angrily. 

While the two Rockets were reciting their motto, Eric took the time to release his pokémon from their pokéballs. "Charmander! Ember now!" 

The tiny charmander nodded and spewed a burst of fire at the Rockets causing their hair to catch on fire, making them run around in circles screaming. 

"Ok, Squirtle, wash 'em off with your water gun," Eric commanded his squirtle. 

The squirtle obeyed and send a fast, steady stream of water hurling at the Rockets, stopping the flames. 

"Geodude. Use your tackle attack," Eric said. 

The geodude floated rapidly towards the Rockets and tackled them at full force, sending them flying off into the sky. 

The other group of kids came to Eric and Sandra. The tallest one's face was abnormally red and was constantly looking at Sandra. 

"Thanks for helping us back there. My name's Ash and this is Misty and Brock," the weird-haired boy said. 

"No problem. I'm Eric and this is Sandra. Our friend out there is Vince," Eric replied. 

"Do you run into those two a lot?" Sandra asked. 

"Yeah. How'd you know?" asked Ash. 

"Well, you did say, 'Not you two again.' That kinda gave it away. So where are you three headed for?" 

"We're going to Cinnibar Island, gotta get another badge." 

"Really, we're heading over there too. What do you say we go there together?" 

"Yes, yes. Together!" the seemingly, mentally-challenged Brock interrupted. 

"Ok, we'll leave in a few minutes. See ya then," Ash said as he went out to sea with his friends. 

Eric looked at Sandra with an eyebrow raised. "Since when were we going to go to Cinnibar Island?" 

Sandra smiled. "Think about it, they say they see these two Team Rocket goofs often, so all we gotta do is stay with them for a while and we're bound to see the Team Rocket clowns." 

"Ah, ok. Very clever. Say, are you a good swimmer?" 

"Yeah, why?" 

"I bet I'm a better swimmer," Eric said with a smirk. 

"Really?" Sandra said with a hint of sarcasm as they headed out to the ocean.

**Part 6**

Inside the gyarados submarine, Jessie, James, and Meowth are seemingly pedaling aimlessly. Keeping his eyes to the window in front of him, James asked, "So what's the plan again, Jessie?" 

Irritated, Jessie responded, "How many times do I have to tell you!?" She took a deep breath then said, "We get in the boat, set the four bombs at the four locations, get back into our sub, and wait for the boat explode along with those pests." 

--------------------

Walking around the deck, bored from waiting to get to Cinnibar Island, Eric spots a guy with bright blue hair attaching a round device to a door. James, he thought to himself. He moved closer to James, making sure he kept clear of James' field of vision. 

Insanely excited, James laughed a grim laugh then said to himself, "This'll take care of those brats. No more Ash or that annoying Pikachu." 

Seeing James set the bomb on the boat gave Eric a sour feeling in his chest. His life was in danger along with many others, but he was more concerned for Sandra than he was for himself. I've got to warn them...no, I should tell Sandra first, Eric thought to himself as he moved away from James as quietly as he could. 

------------- 

"A what!?" Sandra demanded to know. 

"A bomb or something. He said that it would take care of Ash and his friends," Eric replied. 

"Well...we need to follow them...besides, if we want to get out of here alive, we're gonna have to get out before they detonate the bomb, but we can't tell anyone else about this. Sorry Eric." 

"Hey Sandra," Vince interrupted. He pointed to a purple-haired girl climbing out the boat. "Isn't that one of them?" 

Eric and Sandra looked to where Vince pointed and regarded the purple-haired girl. "Yes! That's her!" Sandra said. "Come on! We have to follow her!" 

They quietly and stealthily followed Jessie off the boat and onto the huge, gyarados submarine. After Jessie entered the sub, Eric, Vince, and Sandra opened the hatch and quietly got inside the sub. They found a place to hide behind some crates and stowawayed there. 

---------- 

James, Jessie, and Meowth were laughing and pedaling furiously. "Just a few more meters then we detonate the bombs and report back to the boss," Jessie said, then stopped pedaling. "Alright. I think that's far enough." James and Meowth stopped pedaling and awaited further orders. "James! Detonate the bombs!" 

"Aye-aye!" James responded. He got up and pushed a big, red button on a nearby panel. A large explosion was heard and the submarine shook a little. 

"Now we don't hafta worry about them messin' up our plans anymore," Meowth said. 

"Now all we have to do is report back to the boss for our big bonuses," Jessie continued. 

They all laughed and continued pedaling. 

---------- 

"Finally. We're going to Team Rocket's headquarters. We'd better get some rest. When we arrive, we've got to prepare for the fight of our lives...," Sandra said, then smiled, "or at least this mission."

**Part 7**

They finally arrived to their destination. It seems that the Viridian City Gym is the Team Rocket Headquarters. Outside the gym, Sandra stood in front of Eric and Vince. 

"Are you two ready?" Sandra asked. 

Eric and Vince nodded patiently. Then they all entered the gym. Inside there was a single man sitting on a chair in the shadows. His eyes darted a hard glance at the three for a while. Finally, he said, "Which of you three challenges me?" 

"All of us!" Vince shouted. 

"In case you don't know, we're here to get rid of you and your 'club,' Giovanni," Sandra added. 

Giovanni looked at them blankly again then said, "Very well then. Jessie, James. Get out here." 

In back of Giovanni, a single door opened and out came Jessie, James, and Meowth. They all stood in front of Giovanni in a horizontal line, waiting for further orders. 

"Our guests here challenge us, and being Team Rocket, we must accept," Giovanni calmly told the three. 

Four more Rockets entered the room as Eric released his geodude from his pokéball. He pointed towards Meowth and the geodude sought to fight it, while James and two other Rockets teamed up on Vince and Jessie and the remaining two teamed up on Sandra. The six Rockets fought fiercely, trapping Vince and Sandra between themselves and a wall. 

The gym doors slammed open, everyone turned their heads to regard what had happened. In came Butch and Cassidy with their arms crossed. 

"I thought you two were dead!" Eric said confused by seeing the two. 

"Almost were," Butch responded. 

"That's to you, we we're spared. We owe you, we're here to help," Cassidy added. 

Butch and Cassidy made their way to where Sandra and Vince were, while Eric continued battling with Geodude. 

Finally, the geodude knocked out Meowth. Eric and his geodude made their way over to the brawl while Giovanni pulled out a gun from the holster underneath his suit. He grinned and aimed the gun directly at Sandra. He pulled the trigger and a bullet came roaring out of the gun, making it's way to Sandra. Eric yelled out, but it was too late. The bullet hit it's target. 

Sandra was laying on the floor, blood flowing under her. Eric kneeled next to her and cradled her in his arms, rocking gently back and fourth. 

Sandra started, "Eric....I..." She died then and there in Eric's arms. 

"Sandra! No! Don't die! Please!" was Eric's response. 

Eric wept aloud while the others kept fighting. The love of his life died. He lost his reason for being in the Turks. His reason for living died with Sandra. He didn't want to fight anymore. All he wanted to do was hold Sandra in his arms and die. 

Lost in sorrow, Eric saw Sandra's knife and took it from her. He stared hard at it then gazed at Giovanni. The virtuous young man knew what he had to do. He was going to avenge Sandra's death. He layed Sandra down gently then stood up. He ran toward's Giovanni, ready to strike while screaming, "Die you bastard!!" 

Before anyone could react, everyone was engulfed in a flash of bright white light. Eric was lying on the ground covered in blood, the knife next to him. 

Eric looked up to see Giovanni bleeding severely. Giovanni's head had been completely severed from his shoulders. Next to him stood a tall man dressed in dark clothes. His long, gray hair flowed with the wind. He had a masamune in hand, the end of it embraced by blood. 

The tall man turned around to face Eric, a grim expression in his face. "You're boss is next, boy," he told Eric. In another blinding flash of light, the tall man disappeared. 

------------- 

Eric stood in front of Sandra's grave. He looked down at the grave and said, "Sandra, I'm sorry," a single tear rolled down his cheek, "I wasn't there to help you when you needed me the most. I only wish that I'd been able to tell you how much you mean to me." 

------------- 

Much has happened in the last few months of Eric's life, he was brought to a place to keep from wandering around aimlessly, made new friends, fell in love, saved two lives, and watched the object of his affection die in his arms. 

With Sandra and his boss dead, Eric was to take orders from his boss' son, Rufus. His new assignment was to track down Sephiroth and kill him, his crew was Vince, Butch, and Cassidy. The obstacle in his way of achieving his goal was a group that called themselves AVALANCHE, should they restrain him from tracking down or killing Sephiroth, he is to eliminate them along with Sephiroth. Today is the first day of a new beginning for him. 

Beware AVALANCHE, his name is Eric and he's not in a good mood. 

THE END

   [1]: mailto:darientuxedomask@hotmail.com



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